The project to digitise 90,000 glass plates and films from the Alinari and Brogi negatives collection and of 24 Alinari historical registers has been launched

The digitisation of the Alinari and Brogi glass plate and film negatives collection has begun at the Art Defender security depot in Calenzano, Florence.

The project, supported by the Region of Tuscany and included in the National Digitisation Plan, will see the digitisation of 90,000 glass plates and films from the Alinari and Brogi historical photographic collections and of 24 Alinari historical registers.

Among the materials that will be digitised is a treasure of inestimable historical value: 170 extra-large collodion and gelatine glass plates, made at the end of the 19th century. This material is exceptional because of its size: some plates reach 120 centimetres in height or length, constituting a unique heritage in the world.

"We are starting a huge project because we will digitise about 90,000 plates of the historical unit, the oldest unit of Alinari. And that means making available items that nobody has seen for decades, some for over a century, an extraordinary step". Giorgio van Straten, president of the Fondazione Alinari per la Fotografia

The digitisation will be completed by 31 December 2025.

Video produced by Cultura.toscana.it in collaboration with Net7 srl. Filming and editing by Melissa Martelli.

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